Use of monetary wetland value estimates by EPA Clean Water Act Section 404 regulators

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wetland regulators appear to use monetary estimates of the societal value of wetlands relatively infrequently in Section 404 permit review, enforcement, and compensatory mitigation-related activities. While 52 % of surveyed EPA regulators had used such estimates at least once, only 3 % reported using them frequently. Forty-eight percent said they never used them. Survey respondents indicated that their use of such estimates is inhibited by a lack of relevant information, uncertainty about the scientific validity of estimates, and concerns about the scientific and legal defensibility of estimate use. Respondents said they would be more apt to use estimates in regulatory activities if they perceived agency approval for such use and had access to training and best practices. The barriers and inducements EPA regulators cited largely accord with the literature on the science-policy divide and with the argument that regulatory use of valuation estimates may be inappropriate because research in this arena is not sufficiently advanced.